These days the country seems divided on nearly every topic. The Senate and the House are certainly divided, as are the House and the president. They rarely even talk to each other, much less agree. But even in the midst of such division, the public has a clear and overwhelming opinion about the value of protecting intellectual property; that is, they strongly support intellectual property protections and their enforcement. So add political reality to all of the economic, utilitarian and moral arguments supporting strong protection of IP.
A couple weeks ago the American Consumer Institute released a report making these facts clear. A few data points from the report:
A couple weeks ago the American Consumer Institute released a report making these facts clear. A few data points from the report:
- 86 percent of U.S. citizens believe that protecting IP is a good way to encourage innovation and creativity.
- 89 percent see the sale of pirated and counterfeit goods as negatively affecting American jobs.
- 90 percent believe that such actions are bad for our economy.
- 91 percent support strong enforcement of laws to protect against the sale of pirated and counterfeit goods.
And lest anyone believe that these were citizens merely expressing an IP good/bad impulse, 81 percent support international efforts to fight pirating and counterfeiting operations. The same percentage approved of efforts to include IP provisions in international trade agreements. Respondents clearly have a pretty deep understanding of the importance of IP protections.
And why wouldn’t they be well informed and opinionated, given that U.S. IP is valued around $5 trillion and supports millions of jobs? Voters are fully immersed in the value of IP. They understand the effects on the national economy, and on their family economies, if piracy or counterfeiting is allowed to run rampant, or if protections are weakened, devaluing current and future IP.
But a mere utilitarian analysis does not paint the whole picture. The average person expects to be rewarded for their labor, whether as a wage or as an ownership interest in what they have created. Our society’s expectation of such provides the incentive for product development and improvement. Those innovations, highly regarded in the marketplace, are spurred by the incentive and taken collectively have led us to the continuously expanding knowledge economy—an unparalleled time of production, innovation and wealth building. We live in a time when even the poorest American typically owns technology that was hardly affordable for even the well off a mere 15 years ago.
Voters understand the age in which we live and are keenly aware of the value of IP to their household economies. Perhaps IP is well on its way to becoming a voting issue.
And why wouldn’t they be well informed and opinionated, given that U.S. IP is valued around $5 trillion and supports millions of jobs? Voters are fully immersed in the value of IP. They understand the effects on the national economy, and on their family economies, if piracy or counterfeiting is allowed to run rampant, or if protections are weakened, devaluing current and future IP.
But a mere utilitarian analysis does not paint the whole picture. The average person expects to be rewarded for their labor, whether as a wage or as an ownership interest in what they have created. Our society’s expectation of such provides the incentive for product development and improvement. Those innovations, highly regarded in the marketplace, are spurred by the incentive and taken collectively have led us to the continuously expanding knowledge economy—an unparalleled time of production, innovation and wealth building. We live in a time when even the poorest American typically owns technology that was hardly affordable for even the well off a mere 15 years ago.
Voters understand the age in which we live and are keenly aware of the value of IP to their household economies. Perhaps IP is well on its way to becoming a voting issue.